Recruits deal with joys, stress of selection

Sunday

Jan 29, 2006 at 1:18 PMJan 29, 2006 at 1:19 PM

The Associated Press

Adam Patterson strides through Richland Northeast High School as he has the past two years, shrugging off questions of his looming college choice and handling the notoriety and attention that trails one of South Carolina's most heavily recruited high school football stars.

The massive, 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman is a solid blue chip prospect, rated a four- or five-star player by several services that track recruiting.

He's met with several national championship coaches, including Penn State's Joe Paterno, Tennessee's Philip Fulmer and South Carolina's Steve Spurrier. Then there's his cell phone, which has rarely stopped buzzing since Patterson's speed, quickness and intelligence put him on the radar screens of recruiting war rooms nationwide.

"You get calls every night. They pull you out of class. That's just what you're going to do," Patterson says. "But you only live this kind of thing one time, so you might as well live it to the fullest and enjoy it."

Recruits such as Patterson officially declare for school Wednesday, national signing day. The complex courting has lasted nearly two years, pairing hopeful players with the nation's biggest football powers.

While Patterson has relished the process with visits to Michigan, Tennessee and Auburn, other highly regarded stars Willy Korn and Prince Miller of Byrnes High, who effectively ended the suspense _ and the letters and phone calls _ months ago. In Korn's case, the junior quarterback committed to Clemson last August _ about 18 months before he can sign a letter of intent.

"It's a special situation," said Korn, a rabid Tiger fan since moving to the Upstate as a child. "It wouldn't have been the same with any other school."

Miller, a senior defensive back named South Carolina's "Mr. Football" this season, picked Georgia last summer.

More and more prep stars announce early, something Byrnes High coach Bobby Bentley is glad to see.

"It allows them to focus on their senior year, concentrate on academics and on having a good time playing ball," Bentley said.

It also cuts down on distractions from the often intoxicating, disruptive process.

Patterson remembers how quickly things took off for him. As a sophomore, he won an award as best defensive lineman at a Michigan Wolverines camp.

He was thrilled when he got his first letters from Georgia and Clemson.

Soon, though, the mail arrived in bulk. "Before you know it, you don't even want to read the letters," Patterson says, "because they're pouring in on you."

The phone calls followed. They came at all hours from assistant coaches just saying hello or congratulating Patterson on a good game or special honor.

He loved the ego rush of Spurrier calling in front of several high school friends or family members.

That wore off eventually as well. When Patterson saw a recruiter's number pop up on his phone, he would send it his voice mail to deal with later. "After a while, it was 'I don't want to talk to them right now,'" he said.

Patterson's home life changed as the calls and letters continued. His mother yanked out phone lines to end the ringing. These days, Patterson hands the phone to his father when it's a college coach or assistant.

Schools use a "more is more" policy when it comes to recruiting.

Furman coach Bobby Lamb says he's had coaching friends at larger NCAA Division I schools tell him "each one starts with a list of a thousand names, and they have nine coaches."

Lamb said the Division I-AA Paladins spend about $40,000 on recruiting, a tenth what a Division I school might spend.

The pressure to find the absolute best players is overwhelming for colleges. Lamb jokes that you can send a phony name in as a prospect "and I guarantee you schools will send letters until they get nothing back."

Sometimes, the stress is too much for teenagers.

Goose Creek coach Chuck Reedy is a former head coach at Baylor and assistant at Clemson and South Carolina. He says younger college assistants are expected to land star players and can bring a relentless attitude to the task.

Still, it is rare for colleges to negatively pressure prospects, said recruiting reporter Mickey Plyler with Upstate radio station WCCP-FM. The coaches "may not get the player they're after, but they don't want to lose the next three or four others who that (high school) coach may have," Plyler said.

Dean Boyd of Marlboro County has sent stars Syvelle Newton to South Carolina and Robert Ayers to Tennessee. Boyd learned quickly the attention can hinder schoolwork or cause a player's head to swell.

High school coaches encourage players to alert colleges when they no longer are in the running.

"If they don't, they are wasting a lot of people's time and money," Reedy said. "I would always tell them, 'You're doing me a favor and another guy a favor because we can go get him.'"

Boyd says handled the right way, the recruiting process can be "very meaningful" for prospects as well as everyone around them.

Patterson is squeezing every life lesson he can before things end with his choice on Wednesday. Patterson says he's grown more confident and poised, has improved his public persona and has risen as a leader, and his coach agrees.

Patterson has "a little bit of a clue" where he'll be next fall but is keeping an open mind.

"Players need to be able to go through stuff like this," he says. "This builds character. ... You really need to be able to live this kind of experience at least once."